The Blue Line Extension Light Rail Transit Project is now in the municipal consent process, which will give area residents a chance to get more information and comment on the project, and will conclude with local government units voting on its design.
Starting in downtown Minneapolis at Target Field Station, the 13.5-mile Blue Line Extension would serve 11 stations in five cities on its way to its northern terminus in Brooklyn Park (see accompanying map).
“The Blue Line Extension will be a regional asset, benefitting people who live along the line and those who access it through other parts of our transit system,” said Adam Duininck, chair of the Metropolitan Council. “It is an important piece of our regional transit system, providing reliable options to get to work, school, health care, and more. The participation of the cities and Hennepin County in the planning of the Blue Line is central to the entire process.”
The project has been in the works for years, and the municipal consent process is happening now in Minneapolis, Golden Valley, Robbinsdale, Crystal, Brooklyn Park, and Hennepin County as a necessary step before engineering progresses and the scheduled start of heavy construction in 2018. The line is set to begin service in 2021.
Project will connect northwest metro with jobs throughout the region
The public hearings that are part of the municipal consent process began Jan. 19, when the Hennepin County Board, Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority and the Metropolitan Council held a joint meeting in Minneapolis.
“It’s hard for me to imagine a more effective (line) that would get Northsiders to good jobs across the region,” said Richard Adair, one of the people who testified at the meeting. The Blue Line ties into the regional transit system at Target Field Station, where it connects with the Green Line LRT and other bus and commuter rail routes. The Blue Line Extension will also offer one-seat service from Brooklyn Park to the stations south of downtown, including the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America.
Pedestrians need ample time to cross Highway 55
Several speakers at the Jan. 19 meeting -- including Matt Schirber, who is on the Harrison Neighborhood Association board in north Minneapolis – said they want the line’s design to provide ample time for pedestrians to cross Highway 55. The LRT tracks will run in the middle of Highway 55, where two stations will be located at Van White Boulevard and Penn Avenue.
Project expected to create 6,500 construction jobs
The construction of the Blue Line Extension will create an estimated 6,500 construction jobs with a payroll of about $300 million. Chelsie Glaubitz, president of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation of the AFL-CIO, lauded the project at the Minneapolis meeting, noting the people it will help -- including the construction workers, train operators, and people who will use the line to get to jobs.
Design incorporates many changes requested by project partners
The municipal consent process for light rail projects was established by the Minnesota Legislature and involves local governments in the design process. Earlier votes by city councils made the current route of the Blue Line Extension the “locally preferred alternative,” or the chosen route. The municipal consent process deals with the preliminary design components of the LRT along that route.
The Blue Line Extension Project office has been working with Hennepin County and the five cities along the line for many months, putting together the preliminary design. The local governing units received preliminary design plans in December for their review.
Last year the project office, working with the cities and Hennepin County, made numerous changes to the design of the Blue Line Extension to respond to input from those project partners. The changes included:
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Reconstruction of Highway 55 in Minneapolis;
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Addition of a station at Plymouth Avenue;
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Addition of a park-and-ride facility at the Golden Valley Road station and reconstruction of a nearby intersection;
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Improved trail access to Theodore Wirth Park;
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New LRT bridge structures in Robbinsdale to cross ponds;
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A park-and-ride lot at the Bass Lake Road station in Crystal;
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An LRT bridge crossing above Bottineau Boulevard at 73rd Avenue North; and
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A pedestrian bridge over the freight rail tracks at the 63rd Avenue station.
Also, working closely with Hennepin County, the project office streamlined the planned reconstruction of West Broadway Avenue in Brooklyn Park to require fewer property acquisitions and construct both projects in a coordinated, simultaneous process.
Upcoming municipal consent meetings
Many more opportunities for public input are upcoming as part of the municipal consent process. Public hearings in the other municipalities along the Blue Line include: An open house and public hearing in Brooklyn Park on the evening of Monday, Jan. 25; Minneapolis, on the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 2; Crystal, on the evening of Feb. 2; Golden Valley, on the evening of Feb. 2, and Robbinsdale on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 16. The cities and county will take votes at later meetings.
More information on the public hearings.
Next steps
This summer following municipal consent, the project office will provide scope and cost estimate updates, and the federal government is set to publish the Final Environmental Impact Statement.